11 Birmingham footballers and their dogs - see which breed they own: from Emi Martinez to Jack Grealish

If you are looking to buy or adopt a dog - there are many factors like the breed of the dog to keep in mind. For instance, several elite footballers with links to football clubs in Birmingham and behond - including Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Brom and Wolverhampton Wanderers own dog breeds known for being great guard dogs.

Emi Martinez, Jack Grealish and many others have called on man’s best friend to protect their homes and family. They shelled out thousands of pounds to buy trained guard dogs. Grealish also has a non-guard dog - who is the “love of his life”.

However, not all of the footballers pick a dog for a purpose like security. For instance, Aston Villa’s Alisha Lehmann has a cute and small furry pooch that is unlikely to be a guard dog. There are other footballers like Lehmann, who just want a cute pet.

From furry lazy bags to expert prey hunters - different dog breeds are use for varied reasons. Some are better as farm hands and need to have some work while others are lap dogs - who just want attention and love.

So, if you are looking to buy or adopt a pooch, checking out the dog breeds favoured by famous footballers in and around Brum might be a great place to start: